Career: Nichols now has 12 300-yard passing
games in his 35-game career and 14 performances with at least 300
yards of total offense. On EWU's career passing lists, Nichols
ranks in the top five in all categories, including second in total
offense (9,376) and second in passing yards (8,786) The record
holder for both passing yards and total offense is 2005 Payton
Award winner Erik Meyer (2002-05) with 10,261 passing yards and
10,942 yards of total offense. Meyer is the player Nichols replaced
in 2006 as Eastern's starting quarterback. Nichols now owns the
school record with 1,150 career pass attempts, and also ranks fifth
in efficiency rating (136.0), second in touchdown passes (63,
ranking only behind the 84 of Meyer), second in completions (698)
and third in interceptions (40). With 590 rushing yards in his
career, Nichols is approaching the EWU career record for a
quarterback of 681 set by Meyer. Nichols has been a part of four of
the 36-longest pass plays in school history of 70, 78, 80 and 85
yards, but just the 80-yarder was a touchdown. Nichols has the most
starts among returning players in 2009 with 33.

2009: Listed as a starter at quarterback on
EWU's preseason depth chart. For the second-straight season was
selected as one of 16 players on the Walter Payton Award "Watch
List."

2008: Earned honorable mention All-Big Sky
Conference honors. Spent most of the 2008 season as one of 16
players on the Walter Payton Award "Watch List." Started 10 games
at quarterback and served as EWU's year-long team captain on
offense. He finished sixth in the NCAA Football Championship
Subdivision in passing offense (299.4) and was also fifth
nationally in total offense (306.9) and 40th in passing efficiency
(131.5). On Eastern's single season passing lists, Nichols finished
the 2008 season with the second-most attempts (451), completions
(3,293) and average passing yards per game (299.4); the fifth-most
passing yards (3,293); the ninth-most touchdown passes (21); and
the fifth-most total offensive yards (3,376). He was the Big Sky
Conference Offensive Player of the Week when he completed 26-of-40
passes for 382 yards and five touchdowns in a 45-31 victory over
Idaho State (9/27/08). He also had a 346-yard passing performance
against Northern Arizona (11/15/08) and had 418 against Portland
State (10/4/08) to rank as the third-best in his career and
10th-best in school history. He had a season-ending 313-yard total
offense effort against Weber State (11/22/08) with 242 yards
passing and 71 rushing. His completions (36) and attempts (61)
against Texas Tech (8/30/08) both rank as the second-most in school
history. He was also the team's offensive player of the week
against Western Washington (9/20/08) and Northern Colorado
(11/8/08). In the summer, he was selected to EWU's "100 for 100"
All-Time Football Team to commemorate Eastern's 100th year of
football in the 2008 season.

2007: Was the Big Sky Conference Offensive MVP,
the fourth time in six seasons an Eastern quarterback won that
honor. Overall, it was the fifth time in seven years that award was
won by an Eagle. Also earned first team All-Big Sky honors after
starting all 13 Eastern games at quarterback. Nichols finished his
2007 season ranked in the top eight in three statistical categories
in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision. He was eighth in FCS
in passing efficiency rating (156.5), fifth in passing offense
(288.0) and fifth in total offense (318.2) to lead the Big Sky in
all three categories. Nichols passed for 3,744 yards, 34 touchdowns
and nine interceptions in 2007 after having 17 interceptions
(equaling a school record) and eight touchdowns as a redshirt
freshman. Among the five school records he set in 2007, he broke
the school record of 31 touchdown passes set by Erik Meyer in 2004.
Nichols also broke the school's single season rushing record for
quarterbacks as he finished with 392 to break the record of 275 set
by Mark Laitala in 1978. The other records he broke were the
school's single season completions record (280) and single game
marks for touchdown passes with six versus Montana Western
(8/31/07) and completions with 37 at Montana (10/6/07). Nichols'
passing yardage total was the second-most in school history -
easily the most-ever for an EWU sophomore (Meyer had 2,301 as a
sophomore in 2003). His average of 288.0 yards per game was fourth
and his 4,136 yards of total offense were second. He ranked just
behind the quarterback he replaced - Meyer, the 2005 winner of the
Walter Payton Award - who set school records in 2005 with 4,003
passing yards, a 333.6 average per game and 4,224 total yards.
Nichols also made his mark in the record books of the 47-year-old
Big Sky Conference as his passing yardage total ranks sixth
all-time and his total offense yardage is fourth. His interception
ratio as a freshman was an interception every 15.2 attempts and in
2007 it was one for every 48.9 attempts. His passing efficiency of
156.5 was much-improved from his 109.0 rating as a freshman.
Nichols had a school-record 37 completions on 59 attempts (third
most in school history) for 451 yards (third most) in Eastern's
disappointing 24-23 loss to Montana. He came close to that with 34
completions in 44 attempts for 434 yards (sixth most all-time at
EWU) in a playoff win over McNeese State (11/24/07). He completed
19-of-30 passes against Portland State (9/29/07) and his 363 yards
in that game now ranks as the 25th best in school history. His
previous career high was 329 as a freshman against Sacramento
State. He earned his first-ever Big Sky Offensive Player of the
Week honor for his effort against Montana-Western. He also won the
award against Northern Arizona (11/10/07) when he completed
17-of-22 passes for 316 yards and five touchdowns in the 52-24 win.
He won it for a third time when he had 256 passing yards and a
career-high 103 rushing in a 38-16 victory over Weber State
(11/22/07). His performances against Montana and NAU also earned
him national player of the week accolades from the Football
Gazette. Five times he was the team's offensive player of the week
and twice he was involved in the play of the week. He was selected
as EWU's Scholar-Athlete of the Month in December 2007.

2006: Started Eastern's last 10 games at
quarterback, making the first start of his career at
nationally-ranked West Virginia (9/9/06). The first touchdown pass
of his Eastern career was a 9-yard toss to Aaron Boyce against
Central Washington (9/16/06). The best game of his season came at
Northern Colorado (10/14/06) when he passed for 259 yards and two
touchdowns with a 16-of-21 performance. He led first-half touchdown
drives of 81, 72, 37 and 14 yards as Eastern led 31-0 at halftime
before winning 34-0. He earned team offensive player of the week
honors for his effort against the Bears. He shared the team's big
play of the week honor with wide receiver Tony Davis against
Montana State (9/23/06).

2005: Redshirted.

HS: Graduated from West Valley HS in 2005. Was
an All-Northern Section quarterback after leading his school to the
Division I (large schools) Northern Section title with an 11-1
record. He was the Division I Player of the Year after passing for
1,666 yards and 16 touchdowns. He was also the top player on the
All-Redding Record Searchlight team that listed the top 50
high school players in the area and was selected as the Offensive
Player of the Year by the newspaper. He was the MVP of the Northern
Athletic League as he led his school to the NAL title for the
second-straight year. He was the highest-rated quarterback in the
Northern Section despite an early-season injury. Nichols accounted
for a total of 22 touchdowns, including six rushing touchdowns. He
rushed for a pair of scores in a 42-7 blowout for the section title
against Paradise, which had won 23-straight games. Nichols was
9-of-13 for 106 yards in the first half. In both his senior and
junior seasons, he was team MVP and team captain. As a junior he
led his team to a 10-3 record and runner-up finish in the Northern
Section. He earned All-NAL honors at quarterback as a junior. He
also played basketball and baseball at West Valley. He was also
recruited by such schools as UC Davis, Sacramento State and
Montana, but picked EWU because Cheney, Wash. (population 10,130,
including students), reminded him of his hometown of Cottonwood
(population 2,942).